Giveaway is Closed. Congrats to Carrie for winning this awesome prize back from Hugger Mugger.

If you’re new to yoga, chances are you have one of those yoga mats that needs to air out for a few days week before you can even use it. That’s where most of us start, just get the bare minimum cheapest supplies and see if we’re going to like it.

Yoga is about connecting with yourself and not the “stuff” more than any other fitness pursuit but you can truly transform your practice with the right mat.  The standard for a yoga mat is that it should become like an extension of yourself and with the best ones, you also forget they are there and nothing comes between you and your practice.

With that goal, please enjoy this week filled with yoga mat reviews as well as clothing and service reviews with a lot of giveaways along the way to help you find a new place for yoga in your life.

Hugger Mugger Tapas Ultra Mat Review

Company Website: http://huggermugger.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Hugger_Mugger

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/huggermugger

Price: $39.99-$51.95 (depending on length)

Dimensions: 24″ x 68″ x 1/4″ (also comes in 74″ and 80″ lengths)

The first thing you notice when you take the Tapas Ultra Mat out of the package is actually the absence of something: no weird smell. No need to remove your birds from the house before using your new yoga mat!

Weight

Depending on what you plan to do with your yoga mat, weight matters. If it’s going to be sitting at home then it can weigh the same as a pile of bricks but if you are going to be taking it to and from classes or while you travel, you’ll be looking for a lightweight mat that still performs.

The Tapas Ultra definitely fits the bill in that department, it’s lightweight enough that you can easily take it to and from class but you don’t have to sacrifice quality for the portability of the product. Win –Win.

Thickness

If you’re used to a cheap $10 mat, the Tapas Ultra is going to feel like the difference between sleeping on a bare box spring or a pillow top memory foam mattress. The mat boasts a 1/4” thickness which is double most entry level yoga mats. 

Pros: If you do a lot of kneeling, sitting or lying postures, a mat with this much cushioning is ideal to help prevent discomfort and can provide the right surface to fully concentrate on your body instead of which bone, joint or extremity is digging, rubbing or grinding into the floor.

The cushioning acts very much like memory foam, with slight indentations left after you move your hands and feet that “bounce back” after a few moments.

Cons: All that cushioning can make balance postures a bit more challenging if that’s a weak point for you. But just like any sort of exercise, challenging the body is the way you see change so depending on your goals, this con may very well be a Pro!

Stickiness

If you’ve ever tried to do a downward dog on a slippery mat you can attest to how much this factor alone can make or break your yoga practice. When you are constantly repositioning hands and feet because they are slipping, you lose concentration, breath awareness and can’t go as deep into postures, especially if you’re following someone else’s instructions.

The first few times I did yoga that’s exactly what happened, I wondered how anyone could find it relaxing since I was so frustrated with the cheap mat!

As with all new mats, I gave the Tapas Ultra a wash upon arrival, the label also recommends a wipe down before first use to remove any residue from manufacturing.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being why don’t we use this mat as a slip and slide instead and 10 being, “do they use glue as a mat coating,” the Tapas Ultra Mat gets a firm 8 for stickiness.

During a session of yoga where the movements were fairly quick, I found that the stickiness was great and there was no sliding at all. However, during a more intense session when I was holding postures for extended periods of time, I found that I needed to reposition my hands a bit towards the end of the movements.  The second session also involved more sweat and that contributed to the slight shifting for sure so keep a towel handy and you can remedy that pretty quick.

Appearance, Durability and Special Features

The mat comes in 3 rich colours, indigo (pictured here), eggplant and burgundy and lengths ranging from the standard 68” up to an 80” extra long version.

The easiest way to describe appearance is to show it, so take a look to your right. It looks like that.

Durability is hard to quantify over the course of a review given that I didn’t use the  product for a year and see how it held up. I did however, pull, tug, manipulate, check layers and see how the whole thing was manufactured. The Tapas Ultra is very sturdy and should last a very long time with regular use.

**Edited to add: we’ve had confirmation from a number of readers, that these mats do indeed stand up a very long time even with all that cushioning! Thanks for updating us so we can share a long term perspective.

The only area I can imagine showing wear might be the surface itself. The mat is so soft and squishy that with extended use the surface might degrade a bit. I find this to be true of most of the extra thick mats I’ve used over the years but having not used this mat as long, I can’t say for sure. It definitely held up to the rigors of short term testing.

The Tapas Ultra, along with many other of the Hugger Mugger mats have an EPA approved anti-microbial agent that will last for the life of the mat and keeps little bacteria critters from making a home of your yoga mat.

Another cool bonus that came with this mat was a coupon for a free yoga class and a free issue of Yoga Journal Magazine.

Final Thoughts

Out of all the mats tested, the Tapas Ultra stood out as an amazing mat for the price. Priced in the middle of the pack, you aren’t going to find a lot of mats that give you this level quality for such a reasonable price.

The customer service we received from Hugger Mugger was also fantastic. They responded to emails quickly and were very customer focused.  Along with their 30 day money back guarantee and the free information resources they provide on their website, you can see that this is a company just as much about helping as it is selling.

And the Giveaway…

Did I mention these folks are really, really nice? It’s true, they are and generous as well.

See that up there? That’s a Hugger Mugger Eco Yoga Kit, complete with their non-skid Sattva Jute Mat, a hemp yoga strap and cork yoga block, not to mention a gorgeous mat bag for you to carry around said new mat.

It’s everything you need to start a new practice, enhance your current one, or an amazing gift for the yogi in your life.

How To Enter:

1. Like Hugger Mugger on Facebook
2. Leave a comment below that you’ve done so. Only one comment per person is needed to enter.

One entry per person. Open to residents of US and Canada only. Contest closes Friday, June 3 at 8p.m. MT. You will be emailed if you win so please ensure you enter your main email address when leaving a comment, it is not displayed publically.

Good luck!